


Last Kiss

by GabrielRSJ (blackbirdpuzzlepiece)



Series: Widowers of Austin, Texas [1]
Category: Supernatural, Supernatural RPF
Genre: Death, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Second Chances, Second marriage, death of spouse, jared-centric, widower
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-11-09 04:37:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17994995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackbirdpuzzlepiece/pseuds/GabrielRSJ
Summary: Jared's world is rocked when two police officers show up at his door early on Thursday morning. Gen's gone. Now he's got three kids to take care of. Will he find a second chance at love? Can he even love someone the way he loved Gen?





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jared groggily opened his eyes. Something had woken him up. He wasn’t sure what. He rolled over to look at the other side of his bed where his wife Gen should be laying, but Gen wasn’t there. He frowned something was wrong. Whenever Gen and Dani went out she was always home by midnight. He looked at the clock. It was 2:15 in the morning now. There was a knock on the door. He threw the covers off and headed downstairs. His feet squished into the carpet as he walked keeping everything, silent so the kids didn’t wake up. He reached the front door and opened it. Two police officers were standing at his door. Their badges glinting in the porch light. 

“Excuse me sir but are you Jared Padalecki?” the officer said. Jared felt like his heart had stopped beating. He blinked, slowly realizing that the officer had asked him a question. He pulled his eyes away from the badge and looked at the man’s face. He was an older looking man, balding with crow’s feet around his eyes. 

“Yes sir, I’m Jared Padalecki.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He looked at the two officers and then behind them at their car. Had Gen been arrested? 

“Mr. Padalecki, I’m Officer Grant.” He showed Jared his credentials. “And this is my partner Officer Keene.” The other officer, a younger lady with blonde hair, showed Jared her credentials as well. 

“May we come in Mr. Padalecki?” Officer Grant asked. There was something in his eyes that made Jared uneasy. Something in his expression. It wasn’t a bad expression. It was almost…sad. 

“Of course.” Jared stepped aside so they could come in. “This way.” He led them into the living room. He sat down on the middle cushion of the couch and the two officers sat down on the love seat opposite him. Jared bounced his foot as he waited for the officer to speak. 

“Mr. Padalecki, I regret to inform you your wife Genevieve Padalecki was in a car accident early this morning and has died.” Officer Grant said. Jared’s worst fear was confirmed. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. His world was crashing down around him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. 

“Are you…are you sure it’s Gen?” He managed to rasp out. His voice sounded foreign in his ears. How was he supposed to tell the boys? What about Odette? She wouldn’t even remember Gen by the time she grew up. 

“Her wallet was in her pocket. We made a positive identification through her driver’s license.” Officer Grant said. Jared felt the tears that had welled up in his eyes spill over. She was gone. She was really gone. 

“Where…where is she now? When can I see her?” He sniffled and wiped his tears from his eyes, so he could see Officer Grant clearly. 

“Genevieve is at the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office. I can give you their number and you can call them to set up a time to see her.” Officer Grant pulled a business card out of a folder he had sitting next to him on the love seat. He laid the business card on the coffee table in between himself and Jared. Jared took the card and held it needing something in his hands. 

“Thank you.” His voice came out barely above a whisper, but Officer Grant nodded anyway. 

“Do you have someone you can call?” Officer Grant asked. Jared sniffled again and blinked as he processed Officer Grant’s words. 

“My” he cleared his throat, “My sister lives not too far from here. I could call her to come over.” Officer Grant nodded. Jared got up and went to the kitchen. He always charged his phone there instead of up by his bed, so he wouldn’t be tempted to use it at night. He clicked on Megan’s name and put it to his ear as it started to ring. 

“Hello?” came a sleepy voice from the other end of the line. 

“Hey, Meg.” Jared’s voice sounded watery even to his own ears. He felt awful for waking his sister up, but…he needed someone here and his mom was too far away. 

“Jared? It’s only 3:30 in the morning. What’s wrong?” Megan had always been good at telling when things were going on with her brother. 

“I…” Jared bit back a sob, “I need you to come to the house, please. I’ll explain it once you’re here, but...I need you to come here.” 

“Of course. I’ll be right over. Give me like fifteen minutes okay?” Megan said. Jared nodded then remembered she couldn’t see him. 

“Yeah.” He answered, “See you then.” He hung up the phone. He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out before walking back into the living room where Officer Grant and Officer Keene still sat waiting. 

“She’s on her way now.” He said taking his seat again on the couch. He clasped his hands together, leaning forward some as he looked at the two officers. 

“Alright.” Officer Grant nodded, “We’ll do a follow-up tomorrow to answer any more questions you have,” He pulled out another card, “This is my number. You can call me if you need anything between now and then.” 

“Thank you,” Jared said. He noticed that Officer Grant was starting to stand. He got up too, so he could show them to the door. They walked to the door. 

“I am very sorry.” Officer Grant said as they stepped out onto the porch. He gave Jared a nod and they walked to their squad car. Jared watched them go, door still open. 

He stayed there until Megan pulled in the driveway. When he saw his sister get out of the car the reality of everything hit him so hard he had to grip the door frame to keep himself upright. Megan ran to him, well as best she could since she was three months pregnant. 

“Jared! Jared, what’s wrong?” She said when she reached him, “You scared me so badly on the phone. What happened?” Jared couldn’t hold it in anymore. He pulled Megan into a hug and sobbed. It was a huge sob, loud and heartbreaking. Megan rubbed his back sensing he needed this. 

“Let’s get inside.” She led him into the house and closed the door, locking it as well. She led Jared into the living room and sat him down on the couch before sitting next to him. 

“Gen’s dead.” Jared managed to get out. He couldn’t seem to stop crying now that he’d started. “She’s dead and I don’t know what to do Meg. How do I tell the boys? What do I do about Odette? She won’t even remember Gen. She’s not even two yet!” 

“Oh, Jared.” Megan hugged him again, “I’m so sorry.” They sat like that for a couple of minutes while Jared cried more, and Megan even let a few tears slip. Eventually, she let him go sniffling and wiping at her own tears. 

“Do you want me to call mom, so she can drive up. I don’t think it’d be a good idea for you to be alone today, but I do have work. And you’ll need help with the kids too.” She rubbed his arm soothingly. 

“Probably be for the best.” He sniffled again. Megan got up and he followed her with his eyes. She got a box of tissues from the counter and came back to sit next to him. She pulled a tissue out of the box and offered it to him. 

“Thanks.” He took the tissue out of her hand and blew his nose. “I feel bad waking mom up.” He played with his fingers again. 

“You know she’d want to be woken up for something like this,” Megan said. She pulled out her phone. “I’ll call her and explain that way you won’t have to. You just take a minute okay?” She gave him a small smile. 

He nodded, and Megan walked off to call their mom. Jared closed his eyes. He was glad Megan was giving him a moment to himself. He really needed it. Jared took a deep, shuddering breath. How had this happened? He could picture Gen in his head how she’d looked when she kissed him good night. He could picture her walking to Danneel’s SUV as he waved to them both, and Danni waving back. Was Danni okay? Jared’s eyes flew open. He needed to call Jensen. His eyes flickered to the clock above the mantle. It’d just struck four. Jared bit his lip before deciding to wait until a decent hour. No need to wake Jensen up too. He closed his eyes again and found himself drifting off to the image of Gen’s face. 

When Jared woke up he looked into the eyes of his oldest son Thomas. “Daddy?” his voice was quiet. 

“Yeah Tom?” he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He took a deep breath and smelled pancakes. His heart swelled with hope. Maybe it had all been a bad dream. Maybe Gen was in there right now making pancakes. 

“Grandma said to wake you up. She said you needed to talk to us after breakfast.” Tom bit his lip. “Does it have to do with why mommy isn’t back yet?” A lump grew in Jared’s throat as he looked at his son’s face. He was too young to be dealing with this. Jared couldn’t even deal with this. Not well anyway. 

“Yeah, buddy it had to do with mommy.” He pulled Tom into a big hug, which his son happily returned. “Go get some of grandma’s pancakes before your brother eats them all.” He tousled Tom’s hair, as the little boy giggled and ran off to the kitchen. Jared sighed and ran a hand through his own hair. He couldn’t do this. 

After a few minutes, Jared went to the kitchen to see his mom. 

“What time did you get here?” He found himself asking. 

“Oh, about 5:30.” She was putting pancakes on a plate, back to Jared as he spoke. “I made good time from San Antonio. You needed me.” 

“Thanks for coming mom.” He opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. He got a glass out of the cupboard and poured himself some. 

“You don’t have to thank me, Jared.” She turned to him. “I’ll always come. I’m your mother.” She pulled him into a hug, which Jared readily returned. He found a small amount of comfort in the smell of his mom’s perfume. She’d never changed it in his whole life and it brought back memories of being a little boy when mom could make everything better. But they both knew this wasn’t something she could make better. 

“Jensen called earlier.” His mom said as she put the plate of pancakes in his free hand. Jared went to the breakfast bar and sat down so they could still talk. The kids were in the other room watching cartoons while they ate. 

“Danni?” Jared’s looked at his mom, trying to read her expression. 

“She didn’t make it either.” She gave a small shake of her head. “Both of them.” She sniffled and turned to the sink grabbing a dish and starting to scrub. Jared felt that lump building in his throat again. Not only did his kids lose a mother, but Jensen’s kids too. And Jensen…Jensen lost his wife the same as Jared had. His best friend. His soulmate. The one other person in the world who knew everything about him. 

“I need to tell the kids.” Jared stood up, pancakes still untouched. He went into the other room where the boys were watching Scooby-Doo. 

“Daddy!” Shep smiled and hugged him. Jared managed a small smile and hugged him back. He loved his sons so much. Tom had paused the movie and looked over at them. 

“Are we talking now?” He looked at Jared expectantly. Jared nodded and sat down with them. He put Shep on his lap and motioned Tom over. He scooted over and sat at Jared’s knee. 

“What is it, Daddy?” Shep looked worried now seeing how upset Jared was. “Are you leaving again?” 

Jared gave him another small smile. “No buddy I’m not going anywhere,” He took a deep breath, “Boys you know that we’ve talked about how someday mommy and daddy won’t be around anymore. How we’ll die and go somewhere where we can’t see them anymore. You remember, that right?” Both boys nodded, “Well last night mommy and Aunt Danni were in a car accident. And they both went to that place.” “Mommy died?” Shep whispered, tears rolling down his cheeks. Jared’s heart broke even more. 

“Yeah, buddy.” His voice was hoarse. “Mommy died.” He hugged Shep and pulled Tom up onto his lap and into the hug. Tom and Shep were crying, which made Jared cry again. He hated how much this was hurting them. It hurt him too, but he couldn’t imagine how it was for them. 

Jared didn’t know how long they sat like that. Him just holding his boys. Odette’s crying snapped him out of his thoughts. He kissed Tom and Shep on the forehead. 

“You boys stay here. I’m gonna go help grandma with Odette okay?” He stood silently and went out to the dining room where his mom was holding Odette, trying to comfort her. 

“She won’t calm down for me this morning.” She looked up at Jared. 

“I think she needs her daddy.” 

“Come here baby girl.” Jared took the tiny girl out of his mom’s arms and held her close. He started swaying back and forth hoping to lull her to sleep. She stopped crying, but sleep didn’t seem to be coming so Jared took her back to the other room, so he could still be with the boys too. 

He sat down in the rocking chair in the corner of the room. Shep at once got up and climbed into his lap. Tom came and sat between his legs since there wasn’t any more room on Jared’s lap. They all sat there together for hours. Show after show played on the TV not that any of them were really watching. Jared and Tom were both lost in their own thoughts. Odette and Shep eventually just fell asleep on Jared’s lap. 

Around lunchtime, Jared’s mom came into the room. “Jared, the medical examiner is on the phone for you. They want to know which funeral home you want Gen sent to.” 

“I…I don’t know…mom…do you have any ideas?” His gaze turned from the kids to his mom. 

“I’ll call the place that we had your Aunt Margaret’s funeral at. Don’t worry dear I'll make all the arrangements, so you can focus on them.” She walked over to him and kissed his forehead, “And look after yourself too.” 

Jared sighed as she walked back out of the room. He was so thankful for his mom. He just wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep for a year. He closed his eyes hoping he could join the kids in dreamland. 

When Jared woke up again it was dark outside. The kids weren’t on his lap anymore, and there was a light shining underneath the door. He opened the door and met the sight of his kids and mother sitting at the table eating. 

“Nice of you to join us, sleepyhead.” His mother said giving him an affectionate smile. Jared returned it, albeit halfheartedly. 

“How long was I out for?” His voice sounded harsh even to his own ears and he headed to the kitchen to get some water. 

“You slept for about five hours.” His mom turned to look at him. “I woke the kids up after two I didn’t want them getting too much sleep.” 

“Did you guys have fun with grandma?” he brought his water back to the table and sat down. 

“We colored.” Shep looked at Jared, “And we played outside.” 

“We wanted to go swimming, but grandma said it was too cold,” Tom said as he moved his food around on his plate. 

“Well, I trust grandma’s judgment.” Jared took a drink of his water, “But soon it’ll be time to go swimming again.” 

The table fell silent besides the clatter of silverware on plates. Jared got himself a little bit of the spaghetti that his mom had made and started eating. 

“Will we stay with grandma when you and Uncle Jay go back to work?” Tom sat his water down and looked at Jared. “Will JJ and the twins go stay with their grandma, so we won’t ever see them anymore?” 

“I don’t know what Uncle Jay is gonna do, but I know that I’m staying right here. The show’s gonna have to wait. Or end or something. You guys are more important than the show.” He made sure to hold Tom’s gaze, so his son knew he was serious. Tom nodded and turned his attention back to his food. 

After dinner, Jared tucked the kids in bed and collapsed onto the couch. His mom had gone to bed already in the spare room, so everything was quiet. He turned on Netflix hoping to find something to take his mind off of everything, but nothing looked good. He turned the TV back off and went up to his room. He stripped down to his boxers like he always did and climbed into the bed. He tried to sleep, but sleep wouldn’t come. All he could think of was Gen. He missed her. The smell of her hair. Her perfume. He rolled over and caught a whiff of her of her shampoo on her pillow. He grabbed the pillow held it close. He needed it. Needed her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been so long guys. I've been busy and I wanted to make sure it was perfect before I posted! :)

Jared didn’t want to get up the next morning. He just wanted sleep and never wake up. He managed to slowly drag himself out of bed. He went to the bathroom and got in the shower. He’d really needed to shower yesterday, but he hadn’t had any energy to. He turned on the water, steam rising as it heated. He pulled off his boxers and stepped into the hot spray. He leaned back and let the water run through his hair, little droplets splashing on his face as the steam filled his lungs. He took a slow, shuddering breath. 

After a minute of just standing there he looked around for the soap. He grabbed Gen’s shampoo and popped it open. He closed his eyes and breathed in the flowery bouquet. He could picture her standing right in front of him. Every curve. Every hair. The beautiful, amazing woman her married. They hadn’t even been married for ten years and she was already gone. Hot tears slipped out, and his throat constricted. He closed the shampoo and set it back on the shelf. He turned the water off and wrapped a towel around his waist. 

Their walk-in closet had been one of the reasons Gen loved their house. Jared would’ve been just as happy with a nice dresser, but he knew Gen wanted her closet, so he made sure the house they bought had one. He looked around the closet. It felt big, too big now. Now that it was just his. He ran a finger along the sleeve of a soft sweater that he’d bought Gen when they were in Italy. It’d been during a convention, but they turned it into a small family vacation. He’d seen Gen looking at the sweater and bought it for her. She’d been so happy. He let the sleeve drop from his hand and turned to his side of the closet. 

Once he was dressed he decided to go downstairs at least for breakfast. That way he could see how the kids were doing. He was sure that Odette was fine. She didn’t really understand. She just knew that mommy wasn't here. He envied her lack of understanding. He understood too well what the loss of Gen would mean for all of them. When he reached the landing, he was surprised to see his mom and the kids sitting in the living room working on a puzzle. “Good morning sleepy head.” His mom said, looking up at him as he entered the room. “Daddy!” Shep ran to him and hugged his leg. Jared bent down and picked him up, giving him a proper hug. It was nice to have his son close to him. “Morning Shep.” He said giving him a small smile. It didn’t reach his eyes though. “Daddy, grandma made us pancakes with cinnamon.” He started squirming. Jared put him down and moved to sit between where Shep had been sitting and where Tom was. “Were they good pancakes?” He asked as Shep sat back down next to him. “Yes, daddy. And I remembered to say thank you too. Aren’t you proud of me?” he asked brightly. “Yeah, buddy. You did a good job.” Jared said, pulling him into a side hug. “I wish I could tell mommy,” Shep said smile fading, eyes dimming. “You can tell her in your heart buddy. She’ll always be there.” Jared said gently. He turned to Tom, “How are you doing om?” He shrugged. “Okay.” Jared pulled him into a hug. Tom buried his face in his dad’s neck. His body started shaking as the heartbreaking cries filled the air. Jared carefully stood up. “I’m gonna take Tom upstairs for a minute.” He said. His mom nodded, as Jared walked out of the living room. He knew that out of all the kids Tom was going to take it the hardest. He was the oldest so he understood the most. Shep was sad, but it could easily be pushed the background when fun things came along 

Jared sat Tom down on the bed and knelt in front of him. “Buddy? Can you look at me?” Tom refused to take his gaze off his slippers. “Tom…” Tom sniffled. “I know you miss mommy.” Tom nodded. “And it’s okay to be sad. But we have to remember the happy times with mommy. We have to make sure we keep the good memories alive. You know what I mean?” “Yeah.” he nodded. He hugged Jared again. “Thank you, daddy.” “Of course buddy.” he held him tight. His chest ached, but he tried to smile for Tom. “Why don’t we go back downstairs and see about lunch okay?” “Okay.” Tom nodded. He was still sad, but the crying had stopped and right now that was Jared’s goal. 

After lunch Jared slowly found his way back to his room feigning tiredness. Really he just needed to be alone. It hurt too much to be with his kids. He knew it wasn’t their fault, but all he could see was Gen. It was overwhelming, and he just couldn’t make himself stay down there. He felt like he was faking, and he never wanted to be fake with family. 

Jared watched the sun slowly set through the window. He lost count of how many hours he just sat and watched the world go by. To the outside world, it was just any other day. People went to work. People went home. His world though…had stopped. He felt like he’d lost his motivation. What killed him, even more, was the fact that he knew his kids should still be motivating him. 

There was a knock on his door just after sunset. He got up and opened the door. “Yeah?” “Don’t forget the boy’s first day back from break is tomorrow.” his mom said. “I think you should be the one to take them.” “I will.” he ran a hand through his hair, “Thanks, mom.” “After you come back we’ll talk about the funeral arrangements,” she said. He sighed. “Alright, mom.” “I love you, Jared,” she said after a moment of silence. “I love you too mom.” he swallowed thickly. “Is that it?” “Yeah. Night Jare.” she moved back from the door. “Night mom.” He went back to the bed and laid down, trying to find some sleep. 

The next morning Jared woke up early and headed downstairs. The boys were already sitting there, ready and waiting to head to school. They could’ve stayed home for a couple more days, but Jared knew they’d rather be at school with their friends. It was a welcome distraction right now. He wished he had one. “Are you guys all ready?” He asked. “Yes, dad,” Tom said. He used his sleeve to wipe the milk off his chin. “Napkin next time.” Jared reminded him, but his smile gave away that he didn’t mind. Tom smiled slightly and nodded. “Daddy?” Shep said hopping out of his seat. “Yes buddy?” he asked. “Are you ready to take us to school?” He bounced up and down. “I want to see all my friends!” “Do you think JJ will be there?” Tom asked. “I don’t know buddy,” Jared said rubbing his back. “Uncle Jay might just keep her home.” “Can I stay home?” he asked quietly. “Buddy, I think it’s better for you to be in school. You’ll be with all your friends and it’ll take your mind off things for a little while.” Jared said. He knelt down in front of him. “Will you try just for today? For me?” “Alright, daddy. I’ll try for you.” Tom said throwing his arms around him. Jared hugged him back tightly. 

Jared’s hands shook a little as he turned the key in the ignition. He was so nervous. He double checked, no triple checked, that the boys were settled in their seats and properly buckled. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was all going to be okay. He opened his eyes and made sure everything was settled. Then he slowly, slowly backed down the driveway. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel. He made sure that he went the speed limit, not more, not less. He made sure that all the other cars on the road were given as wide a berth as he could safely give them. 

When they finally reached the school Jared felt like a weight could be taken off his chest. He turned the car off and helped the boys get out. They walked inside. The halls were covered in school announcements, encouragements, and bulletin boards displaying students work. The walls themselves were brick and the tile floor, slap, slap, slapped, under their feet. Shep turned to Jared when they reached his classroom door. Jared crouched down and gave him a hug. “Love you, daddy.” Shep gripped him tightly. “I’ll see you later.” “I’ll see you, buddy.” Jared gave him a final squeeze and stood up. “Have a good day.” “I will,” Shep said, walking into the classroom. Jared watched him go with a sad sort of smile. 

Jared and Tom kept walking down the hallway. Tom’s hand slipped into Jared’s squeezing tightly. Jared squeezed back, letting Tom know he was there. Tom hugged Jared’s legs when they reached the door to his room. He had tears in his eyes, clinging to him as if his life depended on it. “Please be careful daddy.” He whispered. Jared’s heart ached at the sound of the fear in his son’s voice. “I will be Tom. I promise. I’ll call the office when I get home and they can give you the message okay?” “Okay,” he said with a nod. “I’ll need you to tell Shep okay? I don’t want to disrupt his class. You can tell him at lunch.” Jared ran a hand through Tom’s hair. “Can you do that for me?” “I can dad.” he nodded, slowly pulling back from Jared. “You have a good day today okay Tom? Try your best. Be good. All that stuff okay? I’ll come to get you when the days over.” He said. “Promise?” Tom said, sticking out his pinky. Jared wrapped his pinky around Tom’s. “I promise.” Tom gave him one last hug before walking into his classroom. Jared watched him until Tom was in his seat. He turned and walked slowly back down the hallway to head home. 

Jared sighed when he walked in the door and saw his mom waiting for him. He was hoping that she would forget it all. “Odette’s having her nap so we have time to talk. Come sit down at the table and I’ll make you some coffee.” She motioned for him to take his seat. Jared walked over to the far side of the table and sat down. He wasn’t going to argue with his mother. 

A few minutes later she came and sat down across from him. Jared wrapped his hands around the coffee mug that slid across the table to him. The warmth was about the only thing he could feel at the moment. He felt like he was growing number and number the longer his mother stared at him without talking. “How are you feeling Jared?” The words seemed to hang in the air, suffocating him. “I…” His tongue seemed to stick to his teeth. His vocal cords constricted. The words wouldn’t come. He could feel his eyes watering. “Not good.” he managed to get out. His mother nodded, “It’s still fresh. I know. I have everything set up for the funeral. And all the family is coming down from Idaho. And all our side is coming. Castmates have been in contact and old friends as well.” Jared nodded, “Thank you…I…I don’t know how I’d manage without you.” She patted his hand. “What else are mother’s for.”


End file.
